Welcome! Grab a cup of tea, and enjoy browsing some of the photos and stories. As the 'teawife,' it is my duty to watch and listen and be a supportive friend, and a loving mum and wife. I should post more often, but sticking my nose into everyone's business keeps me busy! Kathy the teawife

Monday, March 21, 2016

Trying new foods and recipes is one of the most intriguing
aspects of living abroad. The way food is prepared and the ingredients that are used
provide further understanding of a country's lifestyle and passed-down cultures.

When living in England, I found the desserts especially diverse and interesting. But first, I had to figure out what to call this category of
yumminess. I often heard the terms afters, sweets, desserts, puddings, cakes, biscuits, etc.

While I loved the chocolate biscuit cake (imagine taking cookies,
crushing them up and pouring melted buttery chocolate icing over the top), this
concoction is just too sweet for me. The clusters were made by mixing corn flakes and
melted chocolate.

I wanted to achieve some kind of hybrid between the biscuit cake and the chocolate clusters that I could slice into small pieces. I looked and looked
online, but never found exactly the right mix. There are a number of American “fudge”
recipes using melted chocolate morsels and coconut oil, so I tacked that onto
my recipe, too.

Let me introduce you to my hybrid “no-bake chocolate cluster
slice fudge recipe.” There are so many ways to change it up, depending on your
mood or food sensitivities.

I’ve made two different versions, and you can play around
with the recipes and personalize them. Here goes.

Use a large bowl and add 6 cups of cereal flakes, coconut and
nuts. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate morsels, creamed coconut oil and almond butter
(or peanut butter) over very low heat. Stir regularly with a heat-resistant
spatula.

Once melted, remove from heat and stir vanilla into the
chocolate. Pour melted mixture over dry ingredients in the large bowl. Mix very
well.

If you want more cereal, you can add an extra cup or two until you achieve your desired consistency.

Scrape mixture into a rectangular or square baking dish,
spreading out evenly. If necessary, you can use a large spoon to press down the
mixture. Allow to cool. You can speed up cooling by placing dish in the refrigerator
(especially helpful on a warm day).

Cut into small pieces once cooled. Eat at room temperature
or chilled! These slices will last a long time if stored in the freezer.

The Teawife’s No-Bake Reese's Peanut Buttery Slice

6 to 8 cups Reese’s Puff Cereal, chopped

2 cups chocolate morsels

½ cup crunchy peanut butter or chocolate peanut butter

1 cup sliced almonds or chopped peanuts or another nut

1 tsp. vanilla

Optional – ¼ cup PB2 powdered peanut butter

Begin by chopping up 6 cups of Reese’s Puff cereal balls. I used a
Pampered Chef chopper. Don’t over chop! You can leave them whole, if that’s
your preference. Add Reese’s Puffs into a large bowl. Also
add the cup of nuts.

Meanwhile, melt the chocolate morsels and peanut butter over
a very low heat. Stir regularly with a heat-resistant spatula. Once melted, remove
from heat and stir vanilla and optional PB2 into the chocolate. Pour melted mixture
over dry ingredients in the large bowl. Mix very well. If you want more cereal,
you can add an extra cup or two until you achieve your desired consistency.

Scrape mixture into a rectangular or square baking dish,
spreading out evenly. If necessary, you can use a large spoon to press down the
mixture. Allow to cool. You can speed up cooling by placing dish in the refrigerator
(especially helpful on a warm day).

Cut into small pieces once cooled. Eat at room temperature
or chilled! These slices will last a long time if stored in the freezer.

Sunday, March 13, 2016

This morning I woke up with a hankering for quiche! This is not a craving that I usually have, but I just went with it. I was trying to find a crustless quiche recipe online, but I couldn't find just the right mixture. So I came up with my own. I am a "folksy" cook, and I write my recipes the way I cook and talk! Here ya go!

Broccoli Bacon Bottomless Quiche

6 – 8 strips of bacon, cut into small pieces

Small onion, sliced/chopped thinly

5 eggs (or 3 eggs with 1/3 cup Liquid Egg Whites)

1/2 cup Bisquick or Pamela’s GF Baking Mix

2 – 3 cups of cheese (Swiss, Cheddar, shaved Parmesan, etc.)

1/3 cup half-and-half

1 cup whole milk

2 – 3 cups raw broccoli (or your favorite vegetables)

Seasonings (salt, pepper, paprika, seasoning mix)*

Add eggs, half-and-half, milk, Bisquick and seasoning into a blender/food processor and mix well. Set aside.

Begin by frying the bacon in a pan for about 5 minutes on a low-medium stove. I used a large cast iron pan since I would be able to put the completed quiche into the oven.

Add in onions. Continue to stir and cook the bacon and onions until the onions are tender and translucent (about another 5 minutes).

Add in the broccoli, which I have cut into smallish pieces. Cook the mixture for 3 minutes, stirring to evenly cook the vegetables.**

If you are using a cast iron pan, move the pan from heat and prepare to mix rest of ingredients into the pan. Or, switch to a large pie or tart stoneware or casserole dish.

Add the cheese into the bacon-broccoli-onion mixture; mix well. Pour the egg-milk mixture over the ingredients in pan/casserole dish.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until golden and a knife comes out cleanly from the center. The preheated cast iron pan will cook faster; my quiche took 35 minutes.

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About Me

Welcome! I am Kathy the Teawife. Having been fortunate to travel around the world and live in the United States, England, Malaysia and Abu Dhabi, I've now settled in a lakehouse nestled in the Colorado Front Range with my recently retired hubby. With our son away pursuing a doctoral degree in genetics and biochemistry at the School of Medicine, University of Cardiff, Wales, hubby and I have loads of time to play and explore. While I started my professional career as a publication writer and editor, my various detours and life events have led me into different avenues. Today, my passions include paper crafting, creating cards, designing mixed media pieces, taking photos, messing around with design software, and blogging. I especially enjoy teaching crafty projects, either in person or online. I've found that paper crafting is a wonderful way to meet new people when moving to new places. Thank you for stopping by for a visit!